Ghost Of You
by alyssialui
Summary: Sometimes the things we lose are the things we never thought we would but were fighting for all along. A gift for a Secret Santa. Muggle!AU set before the 1930s. Harmony.


_A/N: Sometimes the things we lose are the things we never thought we would but were fighting for all along.__A gift for a Secret Santa. She wanted a Muggle!AU set before the 1930s with a Harmony pairing. I decided to go with a war fic and base it off the song/music video of the **Ghost of You** by **My Chemical Romance**. Phoebe, I hope you like it! Also, thank you, **Seraina**, for helping me with this fic and the battlefield scene especially. Just talking about the basics with you really helped._

_Also a submission for:_

_**Herbology Assignment #9 - **Write about the death of a character's loved one  
><em>_**New Years Millionaire Fanfiction Resolutions & Goals Competition!:** Major Character Death- Harry  
><strong>Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge: <strong>Hermes - Write about somewhere other than Great Britain - Belgium  
><strong><strong>Happily NEVER After! Destroying CanonCommon Non-Con Pairings! (Challenge): ****Harmony  
><strong><strong><strong>The Chess piece challenge: <strong>****Castling - Write about someone who is willing to die defending someone they consider to be important  
><strong>DECEMBER Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt Competition: <strong>A fic over 3,000 words_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

><p>Harry James Potter walked next to his best friend, Ron Weasley, as they entered the large school auditorium being used for tonight's function. He looked around the large room at the rest of his squadron embracing their wives, families and friends. They would all be gone in the morning and this was their last time to have fun, let their hair down and be together with their loved ones.<p>

"Aren't you excited, Harry?" Ron said with a large smile on his face. "Tomorrow morning, we'll all be loaded up on a caravan and heading out into the middle of things."

Harry gave his friend a shaky grin. Of course he was excited. This is what they had all wanted to do since they were young and now the dream had become a reality. He cast an eye down to the pin on his uniform: **Private Harry James Potter**. It had a certain ring to it.

However, though was excited, that didn't mean he wasn't nervous. This could also mean his death. He would be letting down everyone, including his long time girlfriend, but he was fighting this war for her and he would win this war so the two of them could have a life together.

"Can I please have everyone's attention?" a loud voice said over the microphone. Harry turned to the sound of his commanding officer's voice before cracking a smile. Lieutenant Sirius Black was like the father he had never had. He had been orphaned at the age of one when his parents had died in an explosion at the factory they worked. He had been taken in by horrible relatives until he eventually found a real family and all-but moved into his best friend Ron's, home.

"I would like to welcome you all to our little shindig, and I hope you have a wonderful time," Sirius said as he gestured to the band and their instruments.

The band began playing the first ballad as Harry and Ron walked over to the drinks table. "Neville, Fred," Harry greeted as he picked up one of the filled cups. Neville had a similar story as Harry, having grown up with his grandmother instead of his parents, while Fred was one of Ron's many brothers.

There was a tap on his shoulder. Harry turned around to look into most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen, the same ones that captured him when he was just eleven. Her brown hair was curled above her eyes and swept behind her ear before it ended at her shoulders. She gave him the widest smile before she practically jumped onto him, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a deep kiss.

"Ahem," Fred cleared his throat, forcing the couple apart.

Hermione blushed as Harry put a hand around her waist and said, "Hello, boys. How was your training?"

"Torture," Ron groaned as he brought his cup to his lips. "Mostly waking up with the sun and going to bed after a long day with hardly any sleep on an empty stomach."

Hermione giggled as the rest of the boys laughed. "You didn't think it would be fun and games, did you, Ron?" she asked.

Ron shrugged, "It could have been better. How were things at home?"

Hermione said, "Ginny is home with your Mum. They couldn't make it here tonight though they send their love."

The group all chatted for a bit before Harry turned to Hermione and whispered something in her ear. She blushed and nodded as Harry turned back to his friends. "Excuse me for a few minutes, gentlemen," Harry said as he led Hermione off towards the dance floor.

"Please take care of our darling Hermione, Harry. We love her just as much as you do," Fred called out to him.

"I doubt you could love her as much as I do," Harry replied.

They went to an emptier part of the dance floor as Harry placed his hand on Hermione's slim waist, his fingers tickling the white bow at the back of her dark green, knee-length dress. He took her other hand in his as she placed hers on his shoulder and they moved in time with the music. He pulled her close to him and she placed her head on his chest over his heart. He took a deep breath in, loving the scent that was just Hermione: cinnamon and newspapers from her job as a journalist.

"I'll miss you," he heard her murmur into the fabric of his uniform, bringing him back to reality.

"I'll miss you too, more than you'll know," he responded as he turned them in a small circle. She was his life, his light and he couldn't imagine a world without her. That's why he was doing this. He wanted to make the world a safe place for her, for the two of them to start a life together.

"I keep thinking you won't come back to me," she said as she pulled away to look up into his eyes. He saw the tears that threatened to fall if she should blink. He knew too that there was a good chance of that, but they couldn't dwell on such thoughts.

"I'll come back. We all will. I promise," he said as he captured her lips quickly in his. Then he let go of her hand and delved into his pocket. He was going to wait until the end of the function, but this seemed a good a time as any.

He released her and got down on one knee in the middle of the dance floor. He cleared his throat and said, "With this ring, I promise I will come back and make you Mrs Harry James Potter, Hermione, if you'll have me."

The band stopped playing when they noticed the brave soldier proposing to his girl. Hermione's hand flew to her perfectly done red lips as she gazed down at her boyfriend. "Yes!" she squealed, holding out her left hand for him to put the ring on her finger.

The crowd clapped, Ron, Neville and Fred hollered as the couple embraced and were lost in each other on the dance floor, forgetting all around them. Harry was the happiest he had ever been. This was when he could die, with the girl of his dreams in arms, snogging the living daylights out of him.

She tugged his hand and pulled him off the dance floor, out of the auditorium, into a cab and back to her home. With slow, sensual movements, clothes were discarded as they made their way from her front door and ended up in her bed. He was delicate and caring as he took her for the first time, listening to her noises and reading her motions. They fell asleep in each others arms, Hermione absent-mindedly playing with the ring on her finger as she dozed off.

* * *

><p>"Do you really have to go?" she said sleepily as she watched him re-enter the room from the bathroom. He ran a towel through his slightly damp hair before throwing it over the back of her desk chair.<p>

He gave her a small grin and asked, "Why do you always ask me questions you don't want the answers to?"

He returned to her side on the bed and pulled her close to him, taking her mouth in a deep passionate kiss. His hand traced the curve of her hips, his fingers grazing the naked flesh exposed by the shifted sheet.

When they separated a bit breathlessly, she gave him a sad smile. "Don't forget to write," she said.

"Every time I can," he murmured against her forehead as he placed a soft kiss there. Then he reached from her hand and kissed the ring he had put there last night. "Every time."

* * *

><p>"You look happy," Fred teased as Harry arrived at the compound a few minutes later. They still had an hour to get things ready before the truck took them to the base.<p>

Harry just grinned as he took a seat at the table with his friends. "I should be happy. I'm engaged."

They all laughed, knowing that's not what Fred was referring to but happy all the same. Ron and Neville gave him congratulatory pats on the back. "Always knew you had it in you," Neville said. "Hermione is a lucky girl."

"No, I'm the lucky one. Without her, I don't know where I'd be in life," Harry said, drawing a few breakfast foods close to him. "Which is why I gave her the ring last night," he added, "I have to come back. I have to marry her."

"And don't you worry, Harry," Ron said. "We'll go over there, blow some German brain, and be back in time for all of us to be your best men."

"Hear! Hear!" Neville and Fred chorused. Harry just gave them all a wide thankful smile. They would be okay.

* * *

><p>It had been four months since he last saw Hermione and a month since her last letter and the best news he could have gotten. He had been so ecstatic when she told him that she was pregnant, shouting like a madman and almost running straight out of the mess hall into pouring rain. How he wished at that moment to go home and scoop her into his arms. He had always wanted a large family of his own, and now he was on his way to starting one.<p>

Now he sat in the planning tent with Lieutenant Black, who was giving instructions to all the squads. "Potter, Weasley, Weasley, Longbottom," he said as he called them forward and handed them each a manifest.

"Yours is a recon mission today, soldiers. Those contain your individual instructions," he began before he pointed to the map of the landscape on the table between them. "This is the layout of the battlefield. As Squad Seven, you will be stationed at Barrier Three. At 1145 hours, you will move through the different barriers. Since this is a secondary route to the enemy's base, we anticipate there will be little resistance to your movement, but be careful.

Mr Weasley, you will radio your squad's position and a detailed description of the terrain as often as possible to keep us updated. When you reach Barrier Six, the enemy camp, you are to take this path back. It should be cleared by then if everyone else does their job. This mission is important for we will use your information to instruct Squad Eight tomorrow. Are we clear, privates?"

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" they all saluted as they left the tent with their missives.

As Harry was about to leave, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saluted his lieutenant.

"At ease, soldier," Sirius said with a smile as the man lowered his hand. Then he added, "Stay safe out there, Harry. I heard about Hermione, the whole mess hall heard, and I just want to make sure you get home to your family in one piece."

Harry just grinned and said, "Thank you for your concern, Sir, but it's just a recon mission. We'll be fine."

* * *

><p>The smell of sulphur and gunpowder burnt Harry's nose as the sky filled with smoke. Harry ducked behind the large pile of stones behind Ron which made up part of Barrier Three. Barrier Three had once been a farm it seemed before the bombs had reduced it just piles of rubble. As told, they hardly encountered enemy soldiers, and they few they had were easily disposed of.<p>

He looked quickly at the large-faced timepiece on his wrist - 1240 hours. He cursed outloud, though Ron didn't hear him. From what he could remember from the map, they had to move across the farmland on their way to Barrier Four next and they still had more than half of the distance to go.

He looked back to where Neville and Fred were at the section of broken wall. Neville gave him a shaky grin and Fred gave him a thumbs up. They would move in pairs, giving the enemy a smaller target to hit until they were in safer area.

There was a loud drone from up above. Harry looked up at the grey sky, the passing plane almost engulfed by the rising smoke around them. He hoped it was reinforcements for them and not for the enemy.

"Harry, we have to keep moving," Ron said beside him as he reloaded his rifle. "Cover me!" Ron shouted above the roar of an overhead plane. Harry signalled back to Neville and Fred as he ran behind Ron.

Their movement was slow and hitched as they ran with their packs on their backs. Harry wished he could just dump the pack but everything they needed was in there: maps, information, ammo, rations. It was too important to give up for just a bit more speed.

There was another bullet which hit the dirt by his left foot. Harry spun, his rifled trained in the direction of the bullet and he fired. His response was the anguished groan of a man behind a fallen wall. Harry said a small prayer for the man's soul. This was a war and anyone could go at any moment.

Harry looked up. He had fallen behind slightly in his effort to remove the threat and Ron was running too far ahead of him now. His large backpack jiggled on his back as he jumped over the undulating soil. He was about to run forward when he paused a moment in thought. From his recollection of the map, there was nothing special marked about this area for it had been unexplored and deemed safe. There was something odd about this area however. The ground had many rises and falls and was eerily empty.

It hit Harry just a bit too late. "Ron!" he shouted, even though Ron couldn't hear him. He had to get to him before-

_**BOOM!**_

Dirt and stone flew into the air and Ron's body was flung quite a distance into the air before it landed with a heavy dull thud and a scream. As careful as they could, Harry, Neville and Fred ran to their comrade, keeping their eyes on the slightly elevated land.

"Ron!" Fred cried on his other side as he threw himself onto Ron's chest. Ron's eyes were dazed and far away, looking up into the bright smoky sky. He was covered in dirt, his hair more brown than red at the moment. But what scared all of them the most was the bleeding stump where Ron's leg used to be.

Neville quickly dove into his medic's bag for something to stop the bleeding. He would do anything he could to help their friend. They had been through so much, having grown up in the same neighbourhood since they were kids. They couldn't lose Ron now.

"Stay with us, Ron!" Harry cried out, trying to keep Ron's eyes from closing.

Ron coughed a few times, the dirt and debris having gotten into his lungs, before he gave Harry a slight smile. "How bad is it?" he asked.

Harry looked back down as Neville tried to wrap Ron's leg and Fred was back on the radio. Neville looked up and gave Harry a desperate look.

Ron understood Harry's hesitation and he said, "I'm sorry I can't be your best man, mate."

"Don't talk like that, Ron," Harry shouted. He turned to Neville and said, "Please, do something!"

Neville looked back at Harry and showed him all the wasted bloodied bandages. "There's not much I can do, Harry. He's losing a lot of blood and I have nothing to close a wound as large as a missing leg."

Harry then put his arms under Ron's, "Then we have to take him back, scrap the mission and put him in the infirmary."

Neville shook his head and pulled Harry from Ron, "No, Harry, we're too far from the base to bring him back. He'll bleed out on the way there."

"But we can't just leave him here!" Harry shouted. He looked back at Ron who was trying to look down at his injury, grimacing from the effort. Harry looked at Fred, who too looked torn at the thought of losing his brother.

"Harry," Ron said weakly as he lay back down on the dirt. He was getting weaker by the second, even as Neville tried to sop up his blood with the remaining bandages.

Harry had to lean in to hear him. "Tell Lavender...I love her," Ron said. "Tell her...I was going to propose to her...as I came back."

"No, Ron! You'll be able to tell her yourself!" Harry shouted, uncaring if there were tears now in his face. He would not lose the first friend he ever made.

Ron shook his head slightly and said, "I can't... Please.. just let her know that...and to move on."

"Ron!" Harry said as he shook Ron but then got no response. Ron stared back at him unblinkingly as his life drained out of the stump of his leg.

Harry sat back on his legs as Neville and Fred came around. He heard them muttering something before Fred pulled Ron's eyelids down. Harry looked into Fred's eyes and saw the tears leaving streaks on his cheeks as well. It was tough losing a brother.

"Come, Harry, we have to move. The explosion will bring people to our position," Neville said he and Fred pulled him off the ground. Harry's feet fell in step behind his two friends of their own accord as they walked away from Ron's body, keeping a wide berth of the odd patches of dirt around them.

They had successfully gotten a distance away when Harry ran back. He really shouldn't have. They had a mission to finish and they couldn't take the extra weight with them. But Ron wasn't extra weight. They couldn't leave him like that. They needed a body to bury. They needed something for Mrs Weasley and his family.

_**Twop!**_ Harry fell onto his back, not even realizing what happened but feeling the burning pain in his chest. His hand moved to his left breast before he felt the wet warmth of his own blood.

He tried to cry out for help but instead he just began coughing, the same wet warmth pooling in his lungs. He couldn't move, he couldn't do anything but look up at the bright smoky sky. He heard gunfire above him but he couldn't tell who was firing at who. He hoped Neville and Fred have gotten away. He hoped they aren't as stupid as he was to run out into the open.

As the pain began to wash over him and his breath came out in harsh gasps, he no longer smelled the gunpowder but the smell of cinnamon and newspapers. He could feel her against him as they danced beneath the bright auditorium lights, her hair tickling his nose.

_"I keep thinking you won't come back to me,"_ he heard her timid voice in his ears.

_"I'll come back. We all will. I promise,"_ he heard himself respond.

**_'I'm sorry I broke my promise, Hermione_**,' he thought as his let out his final breath and his heart stopped.

* * *

><p>Hermione sat in the Weasleys kitchen with her hands around a steaming cup of tea. She laughed as Ginny recounted her day before working at their friend, Hannah's restaurant, but their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. After a few moments, Molly entered the kitchen with two letters in her hand and gave one to Hermione.<p>

Biting her lip, Hermione opened the letter and read the contents before letting out a blood-curling scream. Ginny jumped from her place across the table to rush to her friend's side but soon her mother let out one as well.

"What's the matter?" Ginny cried, taking the letter from her Mum's limp hand.

Hermione felt like her world was ending. She placed a hand protectively on her stomach as she read the letter again and again, hoping every time the words will be different.

But it was true. They wouldn't lie about something like this. They wouldn't play such a cruel sick joke on someone if it wasn't true.

She put her face into her hands as her sobs mingled with the other women's in the room.

* * *

><p>The little five-year-old boy placed a wreath on the grave before him. The war was over and he has come to pay his respects to a man he never knew. With a small salute, he turned about and rejoined his mum a few feet back. She pulled him to her side, crouching low to give him a quick kiss on the cheek for a job well done.<p>

"Do you think Daddy likes the flowers?" James asked his mum.

"I'm sure he loves them," she said sadly, twiddling with the engagement ring on the finger. "Just like he loves us and we love him."


End file.
